Montgomery County's representatives in the House will begin the session in March without any of the gavels on the chamber's committees.

The development was not a surprise; the county's delegation is a majority Democratic group in a heavily Republican body, and Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, said Wednesday he felt Montgomery's representatives got adequate committee assignments across the board.

"Those of us that happen to be Democrats, that's expected," he said.

Still, it was a notable development for the local representatives. A Montgomery representative held the chair of one of the House's budget committees for at least a decade, until former Rep. Jay Love, R-Montgomery, who chaired the House Ways and Means Education committee, resigned his seat in 2012 to pursue other opportunities.

The best assignment went to Rep. Dimitri Polizos, R-Montgomery, a restaurant owner, who will serve as Vice-Chairman of the House Commerce & Small Business. Knight, a former chairman of the House General Fund committee, was named Ranking Minority Member of the Health Committee; Rep. Thad McClammy, D-Montgomery, will serve as Ranking Minority Member of the House Judiciary Committee and House Military & Veterans Affairs Committee.

Knight will also serve on the General Fund committee, though Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, will serve as Ranking Minority Member. Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, whose district includes southern Montgomery County, will also serve on the General Fund committee. No local representatives will serve on the House Ways and Means Education committee, which oversees the state's $5.9 billion Education Trust Fund budget.

In other assignments, freshman Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Montgomery, will serve on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee; the County & Municipal Government Committee and the Financial Services Committee. McClammy will also sit on Financial Services. Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, will not sit on any committee apart from the local delegation; Holmes typically does not sit on general committees.

There are 72 Republicans in the House and 33 Democrats. Montgomery County is represented by four Democrats and three Republicans.

The Alabama House of Representatives wrapped up the organizational session Wednesday by approving the joint operating rules of the Legislature for the next four years. There were minor changes to the rules from the previous four years. The most notable change would allow the Legislature to adjourn without using one of its 30 yearly meeting days if the governor declares a state of emergency. Ice and snow conditions on Jan. 27 of last year prevented many House members from coming to Montgomery, and the House was forced to adjourn -- and burn a legislative day -- due to the weather.

The Senate adopted its rules Wednesday, but not before a lengthy debate that saw Democrats and a handful of Republicans raising issues about some of the language in the rules. Democrats, who frequently criticized the Republican majority in the previous quadrennium over their moves to end debate in the previous four years, raised concerns over language that Senate Minority Leader Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, characterized as giving Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey -- a frequent target of Democratic ire -- too much power to decide certain motions.

Sens. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City and Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, both expressed concerns about language that would require local bills dealing with the "environment" to go to a second committee. Williams said the language was broad enough to "touch anything and everything that touches land, sea or air in Alabama."

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who handled the rules on the floor, said he shared some of Williams and Bussman's concerns, and hoped to revisit the issue.

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for members of the Montgomery County House delegation. All members serve on the local county committee.

Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery

No general committee assignments; Holmes generally does not sit on committees.